PROPERTY entrepreneur Andrew Lazare will become possibly the youngest chief executive of a listed company next month following a multi-million pound deal.

Andrew, 28, of Prestwich, Manchester, has also landed a paper fortune after the reverse takeover of his two businesses by cash shell Damask Investments.

Ofex-quoted Damask has acquired Urban Logic, a property investment firm, and Northern Lynx, a fledgling development venture which has permission to build in Salford and on the Fylde Coast.

The total value of the deal is é8.7m, made up of é460,000 in cash paid to Andrew, and the rest in shares. Andrew will be chief executive of the new business, which will be renamed Northern Lynx and will move to the Alternative Investment Market early next month.

Exciting

It is looking to raise é1m via a placing to fund ambitious expansion plans. It will have a market capitalisation of about é11m. Andrew will be the biggest individual shareholder with a 48 per cent stake.

Damask chairman David Wilson said: "We were established last year with an objective to acquire a property company with a strong track record and strong management team.

"We identified Urban Logic as a young, well-managed company with exciting potential. We are looking forward to helping the firm build on its success."

Andrew, a business management graduate, launched Urban Logic in January 2004. It has relationships with housebuilders, including Crosby and Redrow, to buy properties off-plan at a discount, then sell them to wealthy private investors such as soccer players.

Urban Logic receives a commission from the investors for negotiating the discounts.

Its six staff are currently selling about 40 homes a month in out-of-town locations in northern England and Scotland.

The business has secured a two-year deal with the Professional Footballers' Association to offer investments to its members, both current and former players.

Urban Logic, which is based on Hilton Street, Manchester, earned é500,000 in commission last year and made é230,000 in pre-tax profits.

Andrew said of the Damask deal: "Urban Logic has been very successful to date, and this move will fuel the company's growth and help us provide our clients with a broader range of investment opportunities."